Data delivery

ABSTRACT

Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for support dependent post delivery. In one aspect, a method included generating transmission data for a web page served by a first server and rendered on the client device, the first sever belonging to a first domain; determining if the client device supports cross origin resource sharing; in response to a determination that the client device does not support cross origin resource sharing: defining an iFrame for the web page, the iFrame belonging to a second domain of a receiving server, and having a name value derived from the transmission data, receiving iFrame instructions from the receiving server and executing the iFrame instructions in the iFrame, the iFrame instruction causing the client device to: generate an HTTP POST request to the receiving server from the iFrame name value, the first HTTP POST request including the transmission data.

BACKGROUND

This specification relates to data transmission.

Data transmission is used to communicate between two or more computersconnected to a network. One example use of data delivery is in the fieldof web site analytics. A publisher is an entity that owns and/or managesa web site. Using analytical services offered by third parties, thepublisher can monitor analytical data related to user visits and linksto the web site. Example analytical data includes data related todomains and/or web sites from which visitors arrived and to which thevisitors departed; traffic patterns, e.g., navigation clicks of visitorswithin the publisher's web site; visitor actions, e.g., purchases,filling out of forms, etc., and other actions that a visitor may take inrelation to the publisher's web site. The analysis of such analyticaldata can inform the publisher of how the visitors were referred to thepublisher's web site, whether an advertising campaign resulted in thereferral, and how the visitors interacted with the publisher's web site.With this understanding, the publisher can implement changes to increaserevenue generation and/or improve the visitor experience. For example, apublisher can focus marketing resources on advertising campaigns, reviewreferrals from other web sites, identify other publishers as potentialpartners for cross-linking, and so on.

One example analytical system that provides analytical tools thatfacilitate the collection and analysis of such analytical data isprovided by Google™ Analytics, available from Google, Inc., in MountainView, Calif. To use such systems, a publisher typically providestracking instructions embedded in its web pages (or, alternatively,provides code in its web page that requests the tracking instructionsfrom an analytics server). Typically, the tracking instructions is asnippet of JavaScript™ code that the publisher adds onto every page oftheir web site for which traffic is to be tracked. When the page isrendered by a user device, the tracking instructions is executed,collects visitor data and sends it back to the analytics server in theform of a tracking data communication for processing. One common methodof sending the tracking data communication is to send it as part of anHTTP request.

The collection of tracking data is also referred to as a trackingbeacon. Example tracking data includes account identifier thatidentifies an analytics account of the publisher, a visitor identifierthat identifies the visitor, and event statistics, such as whether thevisitor has been to the web site before, the timestamp of the currentvisit, etc.

The amount and types of events that are reported in the tracking datacan be specified by the publisher, e.g., to account for particularinformation that a publisher wishes to track. However, there is an upperlimit on the size of the tracking data communication, as the HTTP GETrequest has a limit as to the amount of information that can be sent.One way to be able to send greater amounts of tracking data than can besent by an HTTP GET is to utilize an HTTP POST.

An HTTP POST can be sent either as part of an html form or as part of anasynchronous JavaScript (AJAX) request. An HTTP POST sent as part of anhtml form adds an entry to the history of some browsers. This maypotentially degrade the user experience, as the added entry to thehistory will cause the backwards button in a browser to produceunexpected results in response to a user's click.

Sending the tracking data as part of an HTTP POST using AJAX is subjectto same origin policies of browsers. Many web browsers have protectionsbuilt into them that prevent a web page or application runningoriginating from one domain from accessing methods and properties fromanother domain. Because the web page that is being tracked originatesfrom a publisher domain that is different from the domain of theanalytics server, the JavaScript running on the web page of thepublisher domain may not be able to send the HTTP POST to the analyticsserver.

Finally, cross origin resource sharing (CORS) does allow for the sendingof AJAX post request across a domain boundary. However, many browsers donot support cross origin resource sharing.

SUMMARY

This specification describes technologies relating support dependentpost delivery, and more specifically to the transmission of trackingdata using a support dependent post delivery process.

In general, one innovative aspect of the subject matter described inthis specification can be embodied in methods that include the actionsof generating event data detailing one or more events for a web pageserved by a publisher server and rendered on the client device, the webpage and the publisher sever belonging to a first domain, and the one ormore events measured relative to the client device; determining if theevent data exceeds a size threshold; in response to determining that theevent data does not exceed the size threshold, generating an HTTP GETrequest to an analytics server belonging to a second domain that isdifferent from the first domain, the HTTP GET request including theevent data; in response to determining that the event exceeds the sizethreshold, determining if the client supports cross origin resourcesharing; in response to determining that the client supports crossorigin resource sharing, generating a first HTTP POST request to theanalytics server, the first HTTP POST request including the event dataand being a cross origin resource sharing compliant message; and inresponse to determining that the client does not support cross originresource sharing generating a second HTTP POST to the analytics server,the second HTTP POST including the event data and being sent from anenvironment on the client device that belongs to the second domain.Other embodiments of this aspect include corresponding systems,apparatus, and computer programs, configured to perform the actions ofthe methods, encoded on computer storage devices.

Another innovative aspect of the subject matter described in thisspecification can be embodied in methods that include the actions ofgenerating event data detailing one or more events for a web page servedby a publisher server and rendered on the client device, the web pageand the publisher sever belonging to a first domain, and the one or moreevents measured relative to the client device; determining if the clientdevice supports cross origin resource sharing; in response to adetermination that the client device does not support cross originresource sharing: defining an iFrame for the web page, the iFramebelonging to a second domain of an analytics server, and the iFramehaving a name value derived from the event data; issuing a request fromthe iFrame for environment instructions from the analytics server;receiving the environment instructions from the analytics server andexecuting the environment instructions in the iFrame, the environmentinstruction causing the client device to: generate a first HTTP POSTrequest to the analytics server from the iFrame name value, the firstHTTP POST request including the event data, and change the domain of theiFrame from the second domain to the first domain. Other embodiments ofthis aspect include corresponding systems, apparatus, and computerprograms, configured to perform the actions of the methods, encoded oncomputer storage devices.

In another implementation, the rendering of a web page with instructionsfor sending tracking information causes the computer device to request asecond web page. The second web page sends the tracking information to apreviously denoted server.

Particular embodiments of the subject matter described in thisspecification can be implemented so as to realize one or more of thefollowing advantages. Publishers are provided tracking code that isbrowser-independent with respect to the communication capabilities ofthe browser. Larger amounts of tracked data can be sent to an analyticsthird party in a single message than by use of a HTTP get message, i.e.,publishers have the ability to track more events with only a singlemessage than and be tracked by using a single HTTP get message.

The details of one or more embodiments of the subject matter describedin this specification are set forth in the accompanying drawings and thedescription below. Other features, aspects, and advantages of thesubject matter will become apparent from the description, the drawings,and the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an example environment in which trackingdata is reported.

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of an example process for reporting event data.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of an example process for reporting event datafrom an environment separate from a web page for which the event dataare reported.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of an example process for deleting theenvironment after the event data are reported.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a programmable processing system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A publisher web page that includes tracking instructions is rendered ona client device. During the rending of the web page, the trackinginstructions instruct the client device to collect visitor data and sendthe data to an analytics server. The publisher web page originates froma domain that is different from the domain of the analytics server.

In some implementations, the tracking instructions include instructionsthat cause the client device to determine whether the tracking data istoo large to be sent as part of an HTTP GET request. If the trackingdata is not too large to be sent by an HTTP GET request, the clientdevice sends the tracking data to the analytics server by an HTTP GETrequest. However, if the tracking data is too large to send by an HTTPGET request, the client device determines a support capability of thebrowser running on the client device, i.e., the client device determineswhether the browser supports a cross origin support compliant request.If the browser does support the cross origin support compliant request,then the client sends the tracking data using an HTTP POST using a crossorigin support compliant request. Conversely, if the browser does notsupport the cross origin support compliant request, then the clientsends the request from a separate web page instance.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an example environment 100 in whichtracking data communications are reported and processed. A computernetwork 102, such as the Internet, or a combination of Internet and oneor more wired and wireless networks, connects web sites 104-1-104-5,user devices 108-1 and 108-2, and an analytics system 110, such as dataprocessing apparatus that includes a server or many networked servers.Although only five web sites and two user devices are shown, the onlineenvironment 100 may include many thousands of web sites and userdevices.

A web site 104 is a one or more web page resource 105 associated with adomain name, and each web site is hosted by one or more servers. Anexample web site is a collection of web pages formatted in hypertextmarkup language (HTML) that can contain text, graphic images, multimediacontent, and programming elements, such as scripts. Each web site 104 ismaintained by a publisher, e.g., an entity that manages and/or owns theweb site. To avoid congestion in the drawings, only web page resources105-1 for the web site 104-1 are shown.

A resource is any data that can be provided by the web site 104 over thenetwork 102 and that is associated with a resource address. Resourcesare addressed by a uniform resource locator (URL). For the purposesherein, the term “web page resource”, or simply “web page” or“resource”, will be used to describe resources that are accessed througha web browser or similar type of application for display on a userdevice. Web pages can include HTML or XHTML data, multimedia data, e.g.,flash video, images, audio, scripts, and other information and objectsthat can be presented and executed and/or interpreted in a browser.

A user device, such as one of the devices 108-1 or 108-2, is anelectronic device that is under control of a user and is capable ofrequesting and receiving resources over the network 102. Example userdevices 108 include personal computers, e.g., user device 108-1, mobilecommunication devices, e.g., 108-2, and other devices that can send andreceive data over the network 102. A user device 108 typically includesa user application, such as a web browser, to facilitate the sending andreceiving of data over the network 102.

The analytics system 110 is implemented with a domain name that definesa domain that is different from the domains of the web sites 104. Thepublisher of each web site 104 has a corresponding tracking account withwhich data regarding traffic directed to and from the web site 104 andevents related to actions taken by visitors to the web site 104 areassociated in the analytics system 110. For example, each of the webpages 105-1 of the web site 104-1 that the publisher desires to trackdetailed statistics for visitor traffic has embedded within it thetracking instructions 112 described above. When one of the web pages105-1 is rendered in a browser application on a client device 108, thetracking instructions 112 are executed.

Execution of the tracking instructions 112 enables the user device 108to provide tracking data communications to the analytics system 110.Example tracking data communication includes an account identifieridentifying a tracking account, a visitor identifier identifying avisitor to the web page, an event time, and one or more eventstatistics. The account identifier is the tracking account number of theweb site or web page.

The visitor identifier can, in some implementations, identify aparticular user of the user device 108. In some implementations, thevisitor information is anonymized for privacy protection. For example,the tracking code can be configured to report only an Internet protocol(IP) address of the user device 108, or can generate a unique randomnumber that is associated with the IP address of the user device 108 orwith an identifier of the user. Thus, tracking data for a particularuser device are not otherwise associated with or able to identify aparticular user. Other anonymization processes, such as hashing,encryption and obfuscation techniques, can also be used to ensure thatvisitor privacy is protected.

The event time, in some implementations, is a timestamp indicating thetime at which the tracking data communication was sent to the analyticssystem 110. For example, a tracking data communication can be sent eachtime there is a page request generated by the user device 108.Accordingly, the event time will be the time at which the page requestwas generated at the user device 108.

Many different event statistics can be reported. For example, a web pagecan include data specifying which events are to be reported in trackingdata communications. Example event statistics that are reported includereferrer data identifying the referrer site, the first time the visitorvisited the web site, the number of times the visitor has visited theweb site, and actions taken at the site (e.g., a link that was clickedon in a web page 105-1, mouse hover events, etc.), campaign dataidentifying the advertising campaign the visitor came from, registrationevents notifying the registration of a visitor, visitor selection of website links, visitor downloading of downloadable content, time betweenweb site activities of the visitor, the visitor's total time on the website, the visitor entering into a secure session, and other eventstatistics. The example event statistics listed above are illustrativeonly, and more or fewer event statistics can be provided.

Historical data related to the visitor is stored in a tracking cookiefor the web site 104. For example, when one of the web pages 105-1 isloaded on the user device 108-1, one or more tracking cookies 107-1 forthe web site 104-1 are stored in the browser cache on the user device108-1. The tracking instructions then store historical data for thatvisitor for the web site 104 in the one or more tracking cookies 107-1on the user device 108-1. Accordingly, the state of the events, such asthe number of visits and the first time the user device 108-1 visitedthe web site 104-1, can be accurately reported to the analytics system110.

Accordingly, the size of the tracking data communication reporting thetracking data depends on the events being reported. In someimplementations, the size of the tracking data, and the capabilities ofthe browser application on a client device 108, can be determinative ofthe message type and process by which the event data are reported.

The tracking data communications received by the analytics system 110are stored in logs 120. In some implementations, the system 110 accesseslogs 120 and identifies account identifier and visitor identifier pairsfrom the account identifiers and visitor identifiers in the trackingdata communications stored in the logs 120. Thereafter, for eachidentified account and visitor identifier pair, the system 110 ordersevent statistics by their corresponding event times in the tracking datacommunications. Using these ordered event statistics for each accountand visitor identifier pair, the system 100 determines sessions for eachaccount and visitor identifier pair and stores the information in thesessions data store 122. The event statistics can, in someimplementations, be aggregated for each account and visitor identifierpair. The aggregated event statistics are stored in the statistics datastore 124 for access by account users. Events stored in the statisticsstore 124 are typically presented in session/visit reports. Such reportsare useful to web sites as they give the publishers insight into thenumber of visitors to their sites, loyalty for returning visitors,duration of visits, actions performed during their visit, campaigndriving traffic to their sites, other sites resulting in a large numberof referrals to their sites, and other useful analytics.

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of an example process 200 for reporting eventdata. The process 200 can be performed by a client device 108.

The process 200 generates event data (202). For example, the clientdevice, executing the tracking instructions, generates event data asdescribed above. The event data detail one or more events for a web pageserved by a publisher server and rendered on the client device 108, andthe one or more events are measured relative to the client device 108.

The process 200 determines if the event data exceed a size threshold(204). For example, in some implementations, the tracking instructions112 cause the client device 108 to determine if the event data exceeds asize threshold, e.g., 2048 bytes, or if an HTTP GET request with theencoded event data exceeds 2048 bytes.

If the event data does not exceed the threshold, the process 200 reportthe event data using an HTTP GET request (206). For example, thetracking data 112 causes the client device to generate an HTTP GETrequest that includes the event data to the analytics server 110. By wayof illustration, the tracking instructions 112 can generate a “gif hit”that sends an HTTP GET request by inserting a single pixel image intothe page. The event data for the HTTP GET request are URL encoded andappended as a query string to the image URL. An example HTTP GET thatincludes encoded event data TD-1 is shown in FIG. 1.

If the process determines that the event data exceeds the sizethreshold, then the process 200 determines if the browser supports crossorigin resource sharing (CORS) (208). For example, the instructions 112cause the client device 108 to determine if the browser instance B onthe client device 108 supports CORS. This can be done, for example, byinterrogating the browser type and version, by checking for the presenceof a with Credentials property on an XMLHttpRequest object, or for thepresence of an XDomainRequest object, or by other processes.

In response to determining that the client supports cross originresource sharing, the process 200 reports the event data using a CORScompliant HTTP POST request (210). For example, the instructions causethe client 108 to generate an HTTP POST request to the analytics server110. The HTTP POST includes the event data and is a CORS compliantmessage, such as a cross-domain AJAX HTTP POST request that is CORScompliant. An example HTTP POST that is CORS compliant and that includesencoded event data TD-2 is shown in FIG. 1.

In response to determining that the client does not support cross originresource sharing, the process 200 reports event data using an HTTP POSTrequest sent from an environment belonging to the domain of theanalytics server (212). For example, the instructions 112 cause theclient device 108 to generate an HTTP POST to the analytics server,which includes the event data, and is sent from an environment on theclient device 108 that belongs to the second domain, e.g., the browserinstance B′ for device 108-2.

An environment belongs to a particular domain if it has administrativeauthority for that domain. Additionally, same-domain environments canprogramatically communicate, but such communications are not readilyfacilitated between cross-domain environments. Because the environmentsin the same domain as the analytics server 110 do not belong to thedomain of the publisher, the publisher processes do not haveadministrative authority for the environments. Thus the processes of thepublisher 105 cannot alter the internal state of the content itemenvironments. This realizes a security measure that makes it moredifficult for a publisher or an intervening third party to implementabusive processes (e.g., spamming, false impression reporting) withinthe environments.

In some implementations, the instructions 112 generate the environmentB′. The environment can, for example, be an invisible iFrame, and thename of the iFrame contains the event data to be sent to the analyticsserver 110. The name attribute of an iFrame can be used to specify eventinformation. The iFrame can, for example, be appended to the web page bydefining a new section in the web page and inserting the iFrame intothat new section.

The iFrame requests environment instructions (e.g., instructions 114 inFIG. 1) from the server 110, and loads the instructions when they arereceived. The instructions 114 cause the client device 108 to execute aprocess within the iFrame that reads the iFrame name, and copies thename into an HTTP POST request (e.g., an AJAX POST) to the analyticsserver 110.

In some implementations, the initial determination of whether the eventdata exceeds a size threshold can be omitted, as can the reporting ofevent data by use of an HTTP get message. These implementations use HTTPpost messages, and determine which HTTP post process is supported by thebrowser. For these alternative implementations, the process 200 being bydetermining if the browser supports CORS (208).

The sending of an HTTP post request from an environment belonging to thedomain of the analytics server is described in more detail with respectto FIG. 3, which is a flow diagram of an example process 300 forreporting event data from an environment separate from a web page forwhich the event data are reported.

The process 300 generates an environment for sending an HTTP POST (302).For example, the instructions 112 generate an iFrame.

The process 300 names the environment with a name value derived from theevent data (304). For example, the instructions 112 name the iFrame withthe event data or a value derived from the event data.

The process 300 requests and receives environment instructions from theanalytics server (306). For example, the iFrame requests and receivesinstructions 114 from the server 110, which are then loaded into theiFrame.

The process 300 generates an HTTP POST request that includes the eventdata (308). For example, the instructions 114, executing underadministrative control of the domain of the server 110, read the name ofthe iFrame and provide the event data to the server 110 using an HTTPPOST request.

The process 300 changes the domain of the environment from the domain ofthe analytics server to the domain of the publisher server (310). Thechanging of the domain allows a process belonging to the domain of theweb page that is rendered on the client device to close (delete) theiFrame, and also signals that process to close (delete) the iFrame. Forexample, the instructions 114 can cause the client device 108 to changethe domain of the iFrame from the domain of the analytics server 110 tothe domain of the publisher 108. The change of the iFrame's domain tothat of the publisher 108 is detected by the process belonging to thedomain of the web page rendered on the client device and enables thatprocess to close (delete) the iFrame.

In other implementations, the process belonging to the domain of the webpage rendered on the client device can monitor for a timeout, and at theend of the timeout can check the title of the iFrame. The instructions114 change the name value of the iFrame to a uniform resource locator ofthe domain of the publisher, or, alternatively, changing the name of theiFrame to a predefined value, e.g., “done,” and change the location ofthe iFrame to a page of the domain of publisher 108 so the instructions112 can read the “done” title. For example, the iFrame can be changed tofavicon.ico or blank.html of the publisher 108, provided the publisherhosts these elements. If the name of the iFrame is changed to thepredetermined title, the process closes (deletes) the iFrame.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram 400 of an example process for deleting theenvironment after the event data are reported. The process 400 monitorsfor the change of the domain in an environment (402). For example, theinstructions 112 can include a callback function that is executed aftera timeout (e.g., 100 milliseconds, or some other timeout). At theexecution of the callback, the instructions 112 cause the client device108 to check if the iFrame's domain is the same as the domain of the webpage of the publisher.

In response to a change in the domain of the environment to the domainof the publisher, the process 400 deletes the iFrame (404). For example,if the domains are the same, the client device can delete the iFrame.

As described above, the size of the event data can vary, depending onthe events that occur. In some implementations, before the event dataare sent, the instructions 112 cause the client device to determine ifthe size of the event data exceeds a maximum size. The maximum size isan upper size limit of the event data that the server 110 will accept byan HTTP POST. If the event data exceeds the maximum size, then theclient device does not report the event data. In variations of thisimplementation, the instructions 112 cause the client device to send anerror message to the server 110. The error message indicates that theevent data were dropped from reporting due to excessive size. In stillother variations of this implementation, the instructions 112 cause theclient device to truncate the event data to the maximum size and sendthe event data by the appropriate POST method.

In still other implementations, if the event data exceeds the maximumsize, then the client device, as instructed by the instructions 114,provides two or more HTTP posts, and the system 110 consolidates thereported event data upon receipt of the two or more HTTP posts.

Although the examples above are described in the context of web siteanalytics, the data delivery processes described above can be used toprovide many different types of data for many different applications.For example, instead of event data, the data that is transmitted can beany transmission data for a web page served by a first server thatbelongs to a first domain and that is rendered on the client device.Instead of an analytics server, the server to which the transmissiondata are sent is a receiving server that belongs to a second domain.

Embodiments of the subject matter and the operations described in thisspecification can be implemented in digital electronic circuitry, or incomputer software, firmware, or hardware, including the structuresdisclosed in this specification and their structural equivalents, or incombinations of one or more of them. Embodiments of the subject matterdescribed in this specification can be implemented as one or morecomputer programs, i.e., one or more modules of computer programinstructions, encoded on computer storage medium for execution by, or tocontrol the operation of, data processing apparatus. Alternatively or inaddition, the program instructions can be encoded on anartificially-generated propagated signal, e.g., a machine-generatedelectrical, optical, or electromagnetic signal, that is generated toencode information for transmission to suitable receiver apparatus forexecution by a data processing apparatus. A computer storage medium canbe, or be included in, a computer-readable storage device, acomputer-readable storage substrate, a random or serial access memoryarray or device, or a combination of one or more of them. Moreover,while a computer storage medium is not a propagated signal, a computerstorage medium can be a source or destination of computer programinstructions encoded in an artificially-generated propagated signal. Thecomputer storage medium can also be, or be included in, one or moreseparate physical components or media (e.g., multiple CDs, disks, orother storage devices).

The operations described in this specification can be implemented asoperations performed by a data processing apparatus on data stored onone or more computer-readable storage devices or received from othersources.

The term “data processing apparatus” encompasses all kinds of apparatus,devices, and machines for processing data, including by way of example aprogrammable processor, a computer, a system on a chip, or multipleones, or combinations of the foregoing. The apparatus can includespecial purpose logic circuitry, e.g., an FPGA (field programmable gatearray) or an ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit). Theapparatus can also include, in addition to hardware, code that createsan execution environment for the computer program in question, e.g.,code that constitutes processor firmware, a protocol stack, a databasemanagement system, an operating system, a cross-platform runtimeenvironment, a virtual machine, or a combination of one or more of them.The apparatus and execution environment can realize various differentcomputing model infrastructures, such as web services, distributedcomputing and grid computing infrastructures.

A computer program (also known as a program, software, softwareapplication, script, or code) can be written in any form of programminglanguage, including compiled or interpreted languages, declarative orprocedural languages, and it can be deployed in any form, including as astand-alone program or as a module, component, subroutine, object, orother unit suitable for use in a computing environment. A computerprogram may, but need not, correspond to a file in a file system. Aprogram can be stored in a portion of a file that holds other programsor data (e.g., one or more scripts stored in a markup languagedocument), in a single file dedicated to the program in question, or inmultiple coordinated files (e.g., files that store one or more modules,sub-programs, or portions of code). A computer program can be deployedto be executed on one computer or on multiple computers that are locatedat one site or distributed across multiple sites and interconnected by acommunication network.

The processes and logic flows described in this specification can beperformed by one or more programmable processors executing one or morecomputer programs to perform actions by operating on input data andgenerating output. The processes and logic flows can also be performedby, and apparatus can also be implemented as, special purpose logiccircuitry, e.g., an FPGA (field programmable gate array) or an ASIC(application-specific integrated circuit).

Processors suitable for the execution of a computer program include, byway of example, both general and special purpose microprocessors, andany one or more processors of any kind of digital computer. Generally, aprocessor will receive instructions and data from a read-only memory ora random access memory or both. The essential elements of a computer area processor for performing actions in accordance with instructions andone or more memory devices for storing instructions and data. Generally,a computer will also include, or be operatively coupled to receive datafrom or transfer data to, or both, one or more mass storage devices forstoring data, e.g., magnetic, magneto-optical disks, or optical disks.However, a computer need not have such devices. Moreover, a computer canbe embedded in another device, e.g., a mobile telephone, a personaldigital assistant (PDA), a mobile audio or video player, a game console,a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver, or a portable storage device(e.g., a universal serial bus (USB) flash drive), to name just a few.Devices suitable for storing computer program instructions and datainclude all forms of non-volatile memory, media and memory devices,including by way of example semiconductor memory devices, e.g., EPROM,EEPROM, and flash memory devices; magnetic disks, e.g., internal harddisks or removable disks; magneto-optical disks; and CD-ROM and DVD-ROMdisks. The processor and the memory can be supplemented by, orincorporated in, special purpose logic circuitry.

To provide for interaction with a user, embodiments of the subjectmatter described in this specification can be implemented on a computerhaving a display device, e.g., a CRT (cathode ray tube) or LCD (liquidcrystal display) monitor, for displaying information to the user and akeyboard and a pointing device, e.g., a mouse or a trackball, by whichthe user can provide input to the computer. Other kinds of devices canbe used to provide for interaction with a user as well; for example,feedback provided to the user can be any form of sensory feedback, e.g.,visual feedback, auditory feedback, or tactile feedback; and input fromthe user can be received in any form, including acoustic, speech, ortactile input. In addition, a computer can interact with a user bysending documents to and receiving documents from a device that is usedby the user; for example, by sending web pages to a web browser on auser's client device in response to requests received from the webbrowser.

Embodiments of the subject matter described in this specification can beimplemented in a computing system that includes a back-end component,e.g., as a data server, or that includes a middleware component, e.g.,an application server, or that includes a front-end component, e.g., aclient computer having a graphical user interface or a Web browserthrough which a user can interact with an implementation of the subjectmatter described in this specification, or any combination of one ormore such back-end, middleware, or front-end components. The componentsof the system can be interconnected by any form or medium of digitaldata communication, e.g., a communication network. Examples ofcommunication networks include a local area network (“LAN”) and a widearea network (“WAN”), an inter-network (e.g., the Internet), andpeer-to-peer networks (e.g., ad hoc peer-to-peer networks).

The computing system can include clients and servers. A client andserver are generally remote from each other and typically interactthrough a communication network.

The relationship of client and server arises by virtue of computerprograms running on the respective computers and having a client-serverrelationship to each other. In some embodiments, a server transmits data(e.g., an HTML page) to a client device (e.g., for purposes ofdisplaying data to and receiving user input from a user interacting withthe client device). Data generated at the client device (e.g., a resultof the user interaction) can be received from the client device at theserver.

An example of one such type of computer is shown in FIG. 5, which showsa block diagram of a programmable processing system (system). The system500 that can be utilized to implement the systems and methods describedherein. The architecture of the system 500 can, for example, be used toimplement a computer client, a computer server, or some other computerdevice.

The system 500 includes a processor 510, a memory 520, a storage device530, and an input/output device 540. Each of the components 510, 520,530, and 540 can, for example, be interconnected using a system bus 550.The processor 510 is capable of processing instructions for executionwithin the system 500. In one implementation, the processor 510 is asingle-threaded processor. In another implementation, the processor 510is a multi-threaded processor. The processor 510 is capable ofprocessing instructions stored in the memory 520 or on the storagedevice 530.

The memory 520 stores information within the system 500. In oneimplementation, the memory 520 is a computer-readable medium. In oneimplementation, the memory 520 is a volatile memory unit. In anotherimplementation, the memory 520 is a non-volatile memory unit.

The storage device 530 is capable of providing mass storage for thesystem 500. In one implementation, the storage device 530 is acomputer-readable medium. In various different implementations, thestorage device 530 can, for example, include a hard disk device, anoptical disk device, or some other large capacity storage device.

The input/output device 540 provides input/output operations for thesystem 500. In one implementation, the input/output device 540 caninclude one or more of a network interface device, e.g., an Ethernetcard, a serial communication device, e.g., an RS-232 port, and/or awireless interface device, e.g., an 802.11 card. In anotherimplementation, the input/output device can include driver devicesconfigured to receive input data and send output data to otherinput/output devices, e.g., keyboard, printer and display devices 560.

While this specification contains many specific implementation details,these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of anyinventions or of what may be claimed, but rather as descriptions offeatures specific to particular embodiments of particular inventions.Certain features that are described in this specification in the contextof separate embodiments can also be implemented in combination in asingle embodiment. Conversely, various features that are described inthe context of a single embodiment can also be implemented in multipleembodiments separately or in any suitable subcombination. Moreover,although features may be described above as acting in certaincombinations and even initially claimed as such, one or more featuresfrom a claimed combination can in some cases be excised from thecombination, and the claimed combination may be directed to asubcombination or variation of a subcombination.

Similarly, while operations are depicted in the drawings in a particularorder, this should not be understood as requiring that such operationsbe performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, orthat all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirableresults. In certain circumstances, multitasking and parallel processingmay be advantageous. Moreover, the separation of various systemcomponents in the embodiments described above should not be understoodas requiring such separation in all embodiments, and it should beunderstood that the described program components and systems cangenerally be integrated together in a single software product orpackaged into multiple software products.

Thus, particular embodiments of the subject matter have been described.Other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims. In somecases, the actions recited in the claims can be performed in a differentorder and still achieve desirable results. In addition, the processesdepicted in the accompanying figures do not necessarily require theparticular order shown, or sequential order, to achieve desirableresults. In certain implementations, multitasking and parallelprocessing may be advantageous.

What is claimed is:
 1. A non-transitory computer storage medium encodedwith tracking instructions that when executed by a client device causethe client device to perform operations comprising: generating eventdata detailing one or more events for a web page served by a publisherserver and rendered on the client device, the web page and the publisherserver belonging to a first domain, and the one or more events measuredrelative to the client device; determining if the event data exceeds asize threshold; in response to determining that the event data does notexceed the size threshold, generating an HTTP GET request to ananalytics server belonging to a second domain that is different from thefirst domain, the HTTP GET request including the event data; in responseto determining that the event data exceeds the size threshold,determining if the client device supports cross origin resource sharing;in response to determining that the client device supports cross originresource sharing, generating a first HTTP POST request to the analyticsserver, the first HTTP POST request including the event data and being across-domain AJAX HTTP POST request that is a cross origin resourcesharing compliant message; and in response to determining that theclient device does not support cross origin resource sharing generatinga second HTTP POST request to the analytics server, the second HTTP POSTrequest including the event data and being sent from an environment onthe client device that belongs to the second domain.
 2. Thenon-transitory computer storage medium of claim 1, wherein generatingthe second HTTP POST request to the analytics server comprises:generating the environment with a name value derived from the eventdata; requesting, from the environment, environment instructions fromthe analytics server; receiving the environment instructions andexecuting the environment instructions in the environment, theenvironment instructions causing the client device to generate thesecond HTTP POST request to the analytics server.
 3. The non-transitorycomputer storage medium of claim 2, wherein the environment is aniFrame.
 4. The non-transitory computer storage medium of claim 2,wherein: the environment instructions further cause the client device toperform operations comprising changing the domain of the environmentfrom the second domain of the analytics server to the first domain ofthe publisher; and the tracking instructions further cause the clientdevice to perform operations comprising deleting the environment inresponse to the changing of the domain of the environment.
 5. Thenon-transitory computer storage medium of claim 4, wherein changing thedomain of the environment from the domain of the analytics server to thedomain of the publisher comprises assigning the name value of theenvironment to a uniform resource locator of the first domain.
 6. Anon-transitory computer storage medium encoded with trackinginstructions that when executed by a client device cause the clientdevice to perform operations comprising: generate event data detailingone or more events for a web page served by a publisher server andrendered on the client device, the web page and the publisher serverbelonging to a first domain, and the one or more events measuredrelative to the client device; determine if the client device supportscross origin resource sharing; in response to a determination that theclient device does not support cross origin resource sharing: definingan iFrame for the web page, the iFrame belonging to a second domain ofan analytics server, and the iFrame having a name value derived from theevent data; issuing a request from the iFrame for environmentinstructions from the analytics server; receiving the environmentinstructions from the analytics server and executing the environmentinstructions in the iFrame, the environment instruction causing theclient device to: generate a first HTTP POST request to the analyticsserver from the iFrame name value, the first HTTP POST request includingthe event data; and change the domain of the iFrame from the seconddomain to the first domain; and in response to a determination that theclient device does support cross origin resource sharing, generating asecond HTTP POST request to the analytics server, the second HTTP POSTrequest including the event data and being a cross-domain AJAX HTTP POSTrequest that is a cross origin resource sharing compliant message. 7.The non-transitory computer storage medium of claim 6, wherein changingthe domain of the iFrame from the second domain to the first domaincomprises changing the name value of the environment to a uniformresource locator of the first domain.
 8. The non-transitory computerstorage medium of claim 7, wherein the tracking instructions furthercause the client device to perform operations comprising: determining ifthe iFrame name value includes the uniform resource locator of the firstdomain; and in response to determining that that the iFrame name valueincludes the uniform resource locator of the first domain, deleting theiFrame.
 9. A computer implemented method performed by a client device,comprising: generating event data detailing one or more events for a webpage served by a publisher server and rendered on the client device, theweb page and the publisher server belonging to a first domain, and theone or more events measured relative to the client device; determiningif the event data exceeds a size threshold; in response to determiningthat the event data does not exceed the size threshold, generating anHTTP GET request to an analytics server belonging to a second domainthat is different from the first domain, the HTTP GET request includingthe event data; in response to determining that the event data exceedsthe size threshold, determining if the client device supports crossorigin resource sharing; in response to determining that the clientdevice supports cross origin resource sharing, generating a first HTTPPOST request to the analytics server, the first HTTP POST requestincluding the event data and being a cross-domain AJAX HTTP POST requestthat is a cross origin resource sharing compliant message; and inresponse to determining that the client device does not support crossorigin resource sharing, generating a second HTTP POST request to theanalytics server, the second HTTP POST request including the event dataand being sent from an environment on the client device that belongs tothe second domain.
 10. The computer implemented method of claim 9,wherein the environment is an iFrame and generating the second HTTP POSTrequest to the analytics server comprises: generating the environmentwith a name value derived from the event data; changing the domain ofthe environment from the second domain of the analytics server to thefirst domain of the publisher; and deleting the environment in responseto the changing of the domain of the environment; wherein changing thedomain of the environment from the domain of the analytics server to thedomain of the publisher comprises assigning the name value of theenvironment to a uniform resource locator of the first domain.
 11. Acomputer implemented method performed by a client device, comprising:generating event data detailing one or more events for a web page servedby a publisher server and rendered on the client device, the web pageand the publisher server belonging to a first domain, and the one ormore events measured relative to the client device; determining if theclient device supports cross origin resource sharing; in response to adetermination that the client device does not support cross originresource sharing: defining an iFrame for the web page, the iFramebelonging to a second domain of an analytics server, and the iFramehaving a name value derived from the event data; issuing a request fromthe iFrame for environment instructions from the analytics server;receiving the environment instructions from the analytics server andexecuting the environment instructions in the iFrame, the environmentinstructions causing the client device to: generate a first HTTP POSTrequest to the analytics server from the iFrame name value, the firstHTTP POST request including the event data; and change the domain of theiFrame from the second domain to the first domain; and in response to adetermination that the client device does support cross origin resourcesharing, generating a second HTTP POST request to the analytics server,the second HTTP POST request including the event data and being across-domain AJAX HTTP POST request that is a cross origin resourcesharing compliant message.
 12. The computer implemented method of claim11, wherein changing the domain of the iFrame from the second domain tothe first domain comprises changing the name value of the environment toa uniform resource locator of the first domain.
 13. The computerimplemented method of claim 11, further comprising: determining that theiFrame name value includes the uniform resource locator of the firstdomain and in response deleting the iFrame.
 14. A system, comprising: aprocessing subsystem; and a memory subsystem storing instructions thatwhen executed by the processing subsystem cause the processing subsystemto perform operations comprising: generating event data detailing one ormore events for a web page served by a publisher server and rendered ona client device, the web page and the publisher server belonging to afirst domain, and the one or more events measured relative to the clientdevice; determining if the client device supports cross origin resourcesharing; in response to a determination that the client device does notsupport cross origin resource sharing: defining an iFrame for the webpage, the iFrame belonging to a second domain of an analytics server,and the iFrame having a name value derived from the event data; issuinga request from the iFrame for environment instructions from theanalytics server; receiving the environment instructions from theanalytics server and executing the environment instructions in theiFrame, the environment instructions causing the client device to:generate a first HTTP POST request to the analytics server from theiFrame name value, the first HTTP POST request including the event data;and change the domain of the iFrame from the second domain to the firstdomain; and in response to a determination that the client device doessupport cross origin resource sharing, generating a second HTTP POSTrequest to the analytics server, the second HTTP POST request includingthe event data and being a cross-domain AJAX HTTP POST request that is across origin resource sharing compliant message.
 15. A non-transitorycomputer storage medium encoded with data delivery instructions thatwhen executed by a client device cause the client device to performoperations comprising: generating transmission data for a web pageserved by a first server and rendered on the client device, the web pageand the first server belonging to a first domain; determining if theclient device supports cross origin resource sharing; in response to adetermination that the client device does not support cross originresource sharing: defining an iFrame for the web page, the iFramebelonging to a second domain of a receiving server, and the iFramehaving a name value derived from the transmission data; issuing arequest from the iFrame for iFrame instructions from the receivingserver; receiving the iFrame instructions from the receiving server andexecuting the iFrame instructions in the iFrame, the iFrame instructionscausing the client device to: generate a first HTTP POST request to thereceiving server from the iFrame name value, the first HTTP POST requestincluding the transmission data; and change the domain of the iFramefrom the second domain to the first domain; and in response to adetermination that the client device does support cross origin resourcesharing, generating a second HTTP POST request to the receiving server,the second HTTP POST request including the transmission data and being across-domain AJAX HTTP POST request that is a cross origin resourcesharing compliant message.